FRESNO, Calif. – With the season on the line, the Fresno State softball team earned a thrilling 2-1 walk-off victory over the Boise State Broncos on Saturday at Margie Wright Diamond.
With the victory, Fresno State (23-30, 10-12 Mountain West) clinched the No. 5 seed for the 2023 MW Softball Championship, which begins on Thursday with a single-elimination game in San Diego at SDSU Softball Stadium.
HOW IT HAPPENED
In a tightly-contested regular season finale, Fresno State delivered in the clutch – none more so than when Vanessa M. Hernandez perfectly executed a suicide squeeze to drive home Keahilele Mattson for the walk-off winner.
Earlier in the game, each team scored in the fourth inning, which included Fresno State freshman Emma Martinez leading off with a double and coming around to score moments later when Mattson connected for an RBI double, which tied the game at 1-1.
In the circle, Taylor Gilmore and Serayah Neiss combined to throw eight innings and gave up just the one run on five hits.
NOTES
Fresno State improved to 29-14 all-time against Boise State and 21-4 when playing the Broncos in Fresno.
Fresno State improved to 10-3 this season when allowing two or fewer runs.
This was Fresno State's ninth extra inning game of the 2023 season (5-4 record).
This was Fresno State's fourth game this season with more than 1,500 fans (all four at home).
Fresno State will be the No. 5 seed for the 2023 MW Softball Championship, which will be held from May 11-13 in San Diego at SDSU Softball Stadium.